The Corporate Objective Revisited

Abstract

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A Social Cognition Framework for Examining Moral Awareness in Managers and Academics

“…No previous investigations utilized these methods (Agle et al, 1999;Weaver et al, 1999a). In a domain where shareholder profitmaximization is sometimes seen as a manager's primary ethical obligation (Friedman, 1970;Sundaram and Inkpen, 2004), such a contribution is particularly meaningful. While some theorists (e.g., Freeman, 1994) would argue that no distinction does or should exist, understanding how the distinction is conceptualized in managers' minds is imperative to understanding how to attenuate that separation.…”

“…The moral issues within these complex business situations must compete for attention against strategy-related issues (Child, 1972). In business, where professional responsibility is often viewed as contributing to shareholder wealth (Friedman, 1970;Sundaram and Inkpen, 2004) and executives predominantly send messages about the financial goal-orientation of the organization relative to ethics-related messages (Trevino and Brown, 2004;Weaver et al, 1999a), one's business schema is likely to contain significant strategy-related associations. As Gioia (1992) proposes, schemas offer explanations for why experts might overlook factors that less experienced individuals consider obvious.…”

Value Creation, Management Competencies, and Global Corporate Citizenship: An Ordonomic Approach to Business Ethics in the Age of Globalization

“…According to the traditional Western nation-state paradigm, it is government that has the exclusive responsibility for setting the rules of the economic game, and this view is still dominant in mainstream neoclassical economics (see, e.g., Friedman, 1962;Jensen, 2002;Sundaram and Inkpen, 2004). Nowadays, however, there are definitely global problems, but there is no global government.…”

Oikonomia Versus Chrematistike: Learning from Aristotle About the Future Orientation of Business Management

“…One group states that it is impossible to manage potential trade-offs without having a primary objective. Therefore, achieving a balance cannot be fully operational as a strategic imperative (Jensen, 2002;Sundaram and Inkpen, 2004). Another group of critics is suspicious of the above-mentioned concepts for normative reasons.…”